White Limestone Bodhisattva
China, From the vicinity of Qingzhou, Shandong province
Northern Qi dynasty, 550-577 AD
Polished limestone
58 cm, 23 ins

An exquisitely carved white limestone figure of a standing Bodhisattva, the face serene and full of grace, the eyes half open and meditative, the scalloped hairline topped by a headdress with side ribbons, the figure wearing a high dhoti cascading downwards from bows at the shoulders and adorned with elaborate jewellery, comprising a long string of beads (the two strands of which meet at a circular buckle at the waist), a short bead necklace and a pectoral.

For comparable examples see plates 28 - 31, Royal Academy of Arts, The Return of the Buddha: The Qingzhou Discoveries, exhibition catalogue, London, 2002 and again as plate 65, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Buddhist Sculpture: New Discoveries from Qingzhou, Shandong Province, Exhibition catalogue, Hong Kong, 2001.

Provenance: Private Far East Collection